Are you getting sick of all the sub-par sports games on VC (excluding Kirby's Dream Course, Punch-Out!! and, to some, Ice Hockey)? Yeah? Well, here's Baseball Stars 2 - a game breaks every rule in the book and delivers a completely crazy experience filled to the top with style.
The gameplay's pretty much exactly like any other baseball game -- swing at balls, run around the field, hit the occasional homerun or grand slam, you know the drill. The only difference is the existence of Power Bats. You start with 10 of these and can use one to have a higher chance of hitting a homerun. If you win a match, the stock is replenished - if you lose, it's not. The gameplay's not the strong point though - the delivery is.
Given the time the game was released, each character looks really nice, with their own portrait and sprite (admittedly some characters of the same "type" have the same model). The game also boasts some really fluid animation on just about every thing that moves.
The really attractive thing is the speed at which everything comes at you. This game is FAST. In fact, it's so fast, the screen is pretty much constantly flashing because of the scene switches. Let's set up a scenario that happens frequently: a batter comes up and his portrait flashes onto the screen. You hit the ball, and the screen cuts to a view of the ball flying. A second later you see your batter underneath it running past the fielders. He reaches homebase, the letters of "HOMERUN" flash onto the screen one by one as he runs in between his teammates and the team mascot and dances. Now imagine all of this happening within 10 seconds. That's how fast it is.
Another thing that oozes style is the music and sound. While the music itself isn't THAT special, every now and then you will hear the announcer say "Baseball Stars 2!" in a ridiculous fashion, such as "B-B-B-B-B-B-B-Baseball Staaaars Twoooo!" This just sounds totally hilarious and has to be heard. The announcer also spurts out other quips for various events, each delivered in a stereotypical sports announcer way.
Another cool little thing is that some teams' members share names of similar things -- for example, in the New York Monsters team, you can find "Alien", "Mummy", "Zombie" and others.
Conclusion
Baseball Stars 2 isn't very deep, but what it lacks in depth it more than makes up for everywhere else. That's also the reason it's one of the most-loved baseball games of all time! If you like the sport, or you want a taste of it for the first time, look no further, because no better baseball games will be hitting VC, ever.
Comments 6
Much like Neo Turf Maters, I enjoy seeing the use of the defining SNK beefy graphics outside of the usual 2D fighters. It's quite something to see and hear - especially the cry of "B-B-B-B-B-B-B-Baseball Staaaars Twoooo!!"
Yeah...it's probably the best baseball game out there.
Sorry, but the review is so lackluster, I dunno whether the game is that good or not. No explanation of the pitching, running and batting mechanics, teams customization (if there is any), number of teams, is there any different modes of playing (like championship, single games, etc).
Still, I think I'll get it down the road, since I'm a baseball aficionado.
@maceng However "lackluster" the review might be, and I happen to agree with your assesment, rest assured this game is one of the best arcade baseball games ever made.
You have lots of control over the ball when pitching, as long as your pitcher isn't too tired. If you bean a batter he just might rush the mound and try to knock your head off. lol If that happens you'll HAVE to switch pitchers.
Batting feels great. You can move around in the batter's box where you'd like. Being an arcade game, batting is all about timing, nothing complicated.
Fielding is just as fast and responsive as everything else in this game.
I suppose there's not much to say about a game such as this. It's the pinnacle of arcade style baseball games, period.
Since I didn't got the chance to play it on WiiWare, I'm so glad it finally arrived on the Switch! Great timing as well 'cause baseball season is about to start!
Getting this one
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